After the End
by DawnsBeginning93
Summary: A new pandemic terrorizes the Earth as the dead begin to rise. Edward, Bella and their loved ones must lesrn how to survive. All human, I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR THE WALKING DEAD.
1. Prologue

Prologue: The Beginning of the end

Steve and Carl were cruising down the highway, , radio blaring and neither one really paying attention to where they were going as they sped excessively down the road.

"Baby , baby , baby ohh!! . . " 'Dude change the station I hate this song ' Steve muttered as he swerved a pot hole in the road. "What man, you mean Beiber isn't your jam?" Carl said grinning as he took another sip of his beer.Irritated Steve said, "Whatever man just change the song."

"Ok, sheesh can't you take a joke?" Carl muttered as he fiddled with the stations. . . . Several recent reports coming in from all over the country of a possible new drug epidemic. Authorities are worried a new drug , with possibly hallucinatory and highly dangerous effects such as violence and rage ; may be making a rise in the country. Several incidents of uncontrolled violence and confusion are being reported from various locations around the country. Just this week 23 people have been hospitalized or sent to the Er due to strange and unwarranted attacks . Some of the victims have even reported actually being bitten during these altercations. Currently the authorities have no new leads as to what could be the culprit , but they do feel it is drug related.

However, they are as of yet not certain what drug is specifically inciting these violent episodes in people. With that being said , they assure us they will soon get to . . ."

"Dude , I said to change the song not turn on a boring news station." Steve said annoyed . "Ok, ok give me a second, you know the service through here is – Hey watch out!" Carl yelled suddenly as he grabbed the dashboard. Turning his attention back to the road Steve was able to stop in time to avoid what appeared to be a person hunched over in the middle of the road.

"What the heck? What is with this person, " Steve muttered mystified. "Dude. . Maybe we should check on them. I mean . . Maybe they're hurt. " Carl said slowly . "Yeah , you're right ." Steve said as he got out of the car and began to approach the person in the road. "Hey man are you ok? Do you need help? My buddy and I can call you an ambulance if you're hurt, or hey we can take you ourselves if you need to go. " Steve said as he approached what appeared to be a young man in his late teens hunched over something in the road. Slowly the young man turned to face Steve, revealing glazed eyes and what appeared to be blood dripping down his chin .

"Hey man are you ok? You must be hurt. . . " but Steve was cut short as the man slowly stood up revealing the dead carcass of the animal he had been hunched over. "What the- ahh! Get off of me get off! " Steve yelled as the man latched onto his hand with his teeth. "Hey man! What the heck ?! " Carl yelled as he ran out of the vehicle and began to pull the man off of Steve. Finally succeeding, Carl threw the man to the ground. "What , the heck was that ?" He panted. " I don't know man, he bit me! He actually bit me! " Steve yelled. As they were talking the man had begun to rise back to his feet and slowly walk towards them. " Hey man he's getting up let's get out of here ! Come on I'll drive! " Carl yelled. Running back to the car the two men made it and were able to shut their doors just as the man reached the car and began to bang on the class.

"Come on Carl ! Hurry up! " Steve urged as Carl shifted the car into drive and sped off leaving the growling stranger in the middle of the highway.


	2. After the End: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 **(Warning, contains mention of rape.)**

"Bella, Breakfast is ready! " Grabbing her book bag Bella took one final look in the mirror before heading downstairs to the kitchen. "Coming Mom! " she yelled as she hurried down the stairs almost tripping in the process.

" Whoa Bella, be careful or you'll break something ." Her father said trying to look stern but not hiding his grin very well. "Thanks Dad, " Bella said as she blushed in embarrassment. Kissing her father on the cheek she headed into the kitchen as her fathers phone began to ring. "Officer Swan here." He answered stepping into the hall.

"Morning mom, " Bella greeted her mother Renee as she sat down to her eggs and bacon. "Good morning Bells, ready for school?" Renee asked from her place in front of the stove. " Yes, if by that you mean ready for the day to be over already. " Bella said as she took a bite of her food. " You always love school though, " Her mother said as she thought over her daughters reply. "Yeah, but Lauren and Jessica are at it again and it's just getting on my nerves . " Bella said in an irritated tone of voice.

"Well honey the best thing you can do is just ignore them,. Don't give them an audience for their drama or that will just goad them on. Charlie , where are you breakfast is getting cold !" Renee yelled .

Stepping into the kitchen Charlie motioned to give him just a second as he spoke into the phone. "Well Harry, we'll just have to do our best to get on top of this. Whatever it is we don't want the kids in town getting a hold of it. Sounds pretty bad to me. Yes . . You're right. Well I'll see you at the station and we'll talk more there , bye now." Charlie said as he sat down at the table.

"Well what was that about ?" Renee said as she set a plate before her husband.

"Well you know there's been talk of a possible new street drug on the rise. Whatever it is the kids are taking it's causing some pretty serious trouble. There's been different reports of violence coming in. They haven't apprehended anyone yet to do a tox screen. But they are working on identifying whatever this could be. The boys at the station are just getting worried that it will make its way here into the hands of the kids in town. There was a report of an altercation on the road just outside of town, matching all the indicators we've seen with this so far. But when the police arrived the suspect had already left the seen. We just want to head this off before it makes it to town. " Charlie answered as he took at bite of food.

"You're not worried about this aren't you dad ? " Bella asked as she finished her plate and got up to take it to the sink.

"No, not right now we just don't want the local kids getting their hands on this stuff. It's obviously dangerous. " Charlie said around a sip of coffee. Standing up he took his plate to the sink saying " Well, I have to get to the station and you need to head to school. "

Grabbing her keys Bella blew her parents a kiss and headed out the door. "Bye! See you guys tonight. "

 **TTTTTTT**

"Emmett , Edward , Alice ! Hurry up or you'll be late for your first day of school!" Esme called from the bottom of the steps . It was her children's first day at a new school, in a new town. And she was determined that they were going to be on time and make a good impression. "Well darling , I'm off to work. Have a pleasant day my dear. " Carlisle said as he quickly kissed his wife and grabbed his doctor bag, heading for the door. "Oh have a good first day dear! Treat lots of people, save lives ! " Esme called after her husband as she continued to wait for her children. "Kids, you better be down here in ten seconds I'm not joking !" She called up again.

"Chill Mom, we're coming !" Boomed her son Emmett as he stomped down the stairs followed by Edward and a very perky Alice.

"Oh wow! It's our first day of school I'm so excited! We'll make so many friends!" Squealed Alice as she practically skipped down the stairs . "You know pixie, not all of us share your level of enthusiasm. I mean with a student body as small as Forks High's, there's no way they can have an adequate sports program ." Muttered Emmett.

"Of course that's what you'd care about the most ," mumbled Edward under his breath as he ran a hand through his messy bronze hair. "Well Eddiekins, we can't all be musical protégés now can we?" Said Emmett in a mocking tone.

"alright you three that's enough! You need to get to school. Now I want you all to put your best foot forward with your teachers, make them see what talented, brilliant young minds you ALL have, and make lots of friends! Now off with you, and have a good day! Esme said as she sent them out the door. "Oh and Edward, NO speeding ! " she called after them.

"Well, " mumbled Emmett as they all climbed into Edwards Volvo. "This is gonna suck.

 **TTTTTTTTT**

As Bella pulled into the school parking lot in her beat up , rusty red truck she noticed a large group of students standing around a bright , shiny , silver Volvo. She couldn't help but gawk at the pricy car as she stepped out of her truck. "Sweet ride, isn't it? " Bella turned to see her best friend Angela approaching.

Who does it belong to though?" She questioned she began to walk in stride with Angela towards the school building . "Oh it's those new kids, the Cullen's. Remember Lauren and Jessica started blabbering about them weeks ago. Lauren's mom is a receptionist at the hospital and all she's been able to talk about is how there's a handsome new doctor coming to work there. " Angela said as she rolled her eyes.

" oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. I don't know how it slipped my mind. I mean my mom's being talking about it too. " Renee also worked at the hospital as a trauma nurse and she had mentioned several times there was a new doctor moving into town with his family. "Eh well , your entitled to dwell on other matters even if the gossiping half of Forks doesn't agree." Giggled Angela.

Parting for their separate classes Bella left Angela to attend her first class of the day: English , which also happened to be her favorite subject. Sitting down in her seat Bella began to pull out her textbook and the current novel they were reading for class- "Pride and Prejudice" . Bella had already read the novel several times, but it was her favorite book so she didn't mind to read it again. Actually she had the whole Jane Austen collection at home, reading was one of her favorite pastimes .

Bella began to reread over yesterday's notes as more students began to pour into the classroom, until she felt a shadow fall over her as someone took the seat beside her.

"Hi! My name is Alice Cullen, what's your name ?!" Asked a rather chirpy voice. Bella turned to see a petite, pixie like girl with short spiky hair smiling back at her. Smiling in return Bella answered " My name is Isabella Swan, but everyone calls me Bella . You're one of the new kids? Right? "

Giggling Alice said, "I guess my families move here was no secret."

"You'll learn pretty quickly that in a town as small as Forks, there are no secrets just gossiping busy body's. " Bella said laughing. At that point their teacher Mrs. Fresrickson stepped in and class began.

By lunch time Bella and Alice had learned they had several classes together and were getting along swell. "So Alice, I don't know if you guys have seating arrangements for lunch but you and your siblings are welcome to come sit with me and my friends if you'd like. " Bella offered as they walked into the cafeteria. "Oh really?! That would be great !" Squealed Alice. "I can tell we are gonna be best friends! I'm gonna go find my brothers I'll meet you at the table!" And Alice went skipping off to find her brothers. Smiling, Bella rolled her eyes and grabbed a tray to go through the lunch line.

Coming up to their table, Bella greeted her friends, "Angela, Jasper, Rosalie. Hey Angela, where's Eric?" Bella questioned as she sat down. "Oh him and Mike are off trying to play a prank on someone. I swear he's got the maturity of a 2 year old sometimes." Angela said as she rolled her eyes. "Hey, listen guys I met one of the new students today in English and I invited her and her siblings to sit with us." Bella said as she took a bite of her salad.

Flipping her long , blond hair back Rosalie snippily replied "Bella, you should have asked first! "

"Calm down Rose, it will be fine. I've heard they are all really nice." Jasper said in an attempt to sooth his sister. "They are, at least Alice is very friendly. I haven't actually met her brothers yet but from the way she talks I think we'll all get along great. " Bella replied.

"Bella! Hey! Sorry we got turned around in the hall. I had to go find them, they couldn't find the cafeteria. " Alice said , laughing as she approached the table with two very good looking males. On either side of Alice stood , who Bella assumed must be , her brothers. "Alice, this is my friend, Angela and next to her is our friend Jasper and our friend Rosalie, who is also Jaspers twin." Bella said making introductions. "Hi! Nice to meet you all! I'm Alice , although you already knew that part, and this is my brother Emmett, and the brooding one here is Edward." Upon hearing there names Emmett grinned causing a dimple in his cheek to pop out. Emmett was tall and muscular, with a warm , goofy grin and brown curly hair. Edward, on the other hand scowled at the last part of Alice's comment, but turning to the table smiled and said, "It's very nice to meet you all."

"So, what caused your family to move to the little town of Forks?" Angela asked around a bite of food."

"Well our father , Carlisle, is a doctor. He decided to take a position out here because they, our parents that is, were growing tired of living in the city. They wanted a more peaceful place to live, away from the noise. Plus our family is big on hiking and camping trips and my dad decided this would be the perfect place to move because we're close to good camping grounds and trails." Edward replied.

"Really? And what do you guys think about it here?" Bella asked, looking up at Edward. "Well, it's definitely an adjustment for us but we'll get used to it here. We never really had that many close friends back in Seattle, we just didn't really fit with the cliques there." Edward responded. "Hey well we all understand that! " replied Angela.

"Great here come the barbies ," Bella muttered as she watched Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory approach their table."Hi! I'm Lauren and this is Jessica. We just wanted to come introduce ourselves, and invite you to come sit with us at our table. " Lauren began in her high, nasally voice. "Um, hi, I'm Alice and these are my brothers Emmett and Edward. It's nice to meet you both, and we appreciate the offer but we already have seats here with our new friends. Maybe another time." Alice offered to the girls in a awkward voice.

"Well, you of course wouldn't have time to know this yet but this is the table where the weirdos sit. And all the sluts in school, right Rosalie?" Lauren said as she sneered at Rosalie, who during the course of the lunch period had remained quiet. Rosalie kept her head down as she slowly got up from the table, grabbed her backpack and tray and walked away. " Come hang with us and we'll teach you who to avoid in this school. " Jessica said as she eyed the group with disdain. Growling under his breath Jasper began to get up from the table but Bella grabbed his arm as she said "If this is where all the sluts sit Lauren, then why aren't you and Jessica sitting here?" Emmett started choking on a laugh at that comment and Edward smirked but said nothing. "Whatever Bella, your just a nerdy little freak and we are simply showing the Cullen's who to avoid. " Lauren said with a sneer.

"Thanks, but I think we can determine who best to avoid for ourselves." Boomed Emmett as he stared the girls down. With his intimidating frame and stare, the girls couldn't meet Emmett's eyes and slowly walked away as Lauren muttered , "Whatever, you're mistake."

It was awkward silence at the table for a moment before Emmett blurted out "What kind of stick was up their butts?" At which point everyone started laughing. "But seriously though what is their problem? And why pick on Rosalie?" He asked with anger in his eyes.

For a moment Bella exchanged a look with Jasper, as if asking for permission to share something. Jasper gave a slight nod of his head and Bella turned to the group, as she began to talk with hesitance.

"Well, you see last year Rosalie actually hung out with Lauren and Jessica. She wasn't mean like they are, just a little snobby at times maybe. But she never made fun of anyone like Lauren and Jessica do. And several times she would actually try to get them to stop.They slacked off because of her disapproval but Lauren has always had a mean streak, and has always been jealous of Rosalie. They were cheerleaders together. And Rosalie was the cheer captain. At the time she'd been talking to , Royce King. " at the mention of his name Jasper began to crack his knuckles. Causing Alice to look from him to Bella and ask"Who is Royce King?"

"Well , " said Angela slowly. "He was the schools star quarterback. The most popular guy in school."

"Was?" Edward prompted.

"Well, he was until, last year. He started talking to Rosalie, took her on a few dates. But one night after a game the football team and the cheerleaders all went out together. Somehow someone in the group got a hold of some alcohol and Royce got really drunk. Rosalie decided to leave, she didn't like how he was coming on to her. But he followed her out into the parking lot of 'Danny's Family Diner' and dragged her out behind the dumpster out back. She tried to get him off of her but he wouldn't listen to her. And well . . . He molested her. " At that it became deathly quiet around the table as Bella continued. " My dad, he found her the next morning, they called the police when she didn't come home that night. She was still there, just sitting on the ground in shock . . . When the news got out about what Royce did, he of course was arrested. He was 18 at the time so he was tried as an adult, and sent to prison . But Royce's family started claiming that it was consensual and that Rosalie just screamed rape because she was scared of what her parents would do if they found out. Of course Lauren and Jessica went along with it. Lauren has always had a huge crush on Royce, but he always showed interest in Rosalie, which made her jealous. When Rosalie came back to school a month later they started calling her the school whore, ugly things were written on her locker, they wouldn't leave her alone. It was awful, she quit cheerleading, stopped socializing with everyone except me Jasper and Angela, and almost left the school completely; but my dad stepped in and they had to cut it out for fear of repercussions from the school. Though as you can see they still try to get jabs in when they can. But overall they mainly leave her alone for fear of getting into trouble. " Bella said grimly.

Alice cleared her throat as she asked, " But how is Rosalie doing now?" "She's not the same as she used to be. She's just . . quiet, keeps to herself mainly." Jasper said as he looked at Alice. Grabbing his hand as if to comfort him, Alice said "Oh that's just awful. . How can people be so cruel?"

Then without another word Emmett roughly stood up from the table and stomped away. "Is he ok?" Angela asked nervously. "He's just . . . Very protective of girls. It makes him mad when he hears about stuff like that happening to women. He hates it." Edward said .

Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Everyone got up, grabbing their book bags as they tried to shake off their heartbreaking conversation.

 **TTTTTTTT**

"Class , due to the recent increase in drug related incidents around the country I would like to take this time to talk to you about the dangers of using drugs. After all pharmacology is a kind of science, and I feel it is something we should discuss since it has become so prevalent in the last couple of weeks. " Bella listened as Mr. Banner began his lecture, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in, " Mr. Banner called out annoyed. The door opened and in stepped Edward Cullen. "I'm sorry sir, I got lost trying to find the classroom. " Edward said as he looked across the room to Bella. "Ah yes, Edward isn't? You're one of Dr. Cullen's children?" Mr. Banner said as he looked at the roster on his desk. "Yes sir, I am. And I apologize for not getting here before class started I'm just still finding my way around."

"Yes well, that's alright you are new. Just try not to let it happen again. You can take a seat next to Miss Swan there." Mr. Banner said pointing to Bella.

"Yes, sir." Edward replied as he walked over and slid into the seat next to Bella's. Edward smiled at her as he took out his text and notebook , Bella shyly returned his grin as she turned her attention back to Mr. Banner, who had started back up the lecture."

"Class, the use of recreational drugs has become rather prevalent over the last several years. It's something that you all have grown up hearing about in the news, some of you even have personal experience with it through friends or family, though I'm hoping none of you have personally tried it yourselves. " Mr. Banner said looking around the room sternly.

"As you've seen in the news recently, there has been a spike in rather sporadic assaults with no explanation as to the catalyst for the attacks. Although police are still unofficially sure of the culprit , many do suspect street drugs. They are now just working to identify which one it could be, or if it's something new on the market. Drugs such as Cocaine, Meth, bath salts, and synthetic marijuana have been known to cause erratic behavior in users. As a society today we really have to look at how best to solve the problems of recreational drug use . . ."

As Mr. Banner rattled on with the lecture Bella looked down to see Edward nudging the corner of his notebook her way. **"Bella, just wanted to say it was really nice talking to you and your friends at lunch. Thanks for being so welcoming to me and my siblings, moving has definitely been an adjustment for us, but having new friends like you guys will definitely help.** **J** Smiling to herself Bella looked to make sure Mr. Banner wasn't paying attention as she wrote back. _"Of course, I could tell right away you guys were really friendly, with all the jerks in this school it's nice to meet new, refreshing people._

After reading her reply Edward quickly wrote: **"So, you mentioned your dads a cop. What does he say about everything that's been in the news lately?"**

 _"Well_ , _he's not really sure yet what it is to be honest. Right now it's very sporadic where it's popping up. There's no pattern to it, at least from what he says. So it's hard for them to pinpoint a cause. Though the media wants to blame drugs, he's not really sure if that's the culprit; or if it's something else?"_

 **"Yeah, well whatever it is it's crazy stuff."** Edward replied. The conversation continued like this till the bell rang signaling the end of class. "Well, I have history next, what about you ?" Asked Edward.

"Ugh," Bella groaned as she replied "I have gym." "I take it you're not a fan?" He asked grinning. "You could definitely say that. I'm not a very graceful person, so I don't do great in sports. " Bella said shaking her head in resignation. "Well," Edward said. "I think Emmett has gym next too, maybe he can help? He's great at sports."

Shaking her head Bella replied, "That's a nice thought, but really there's no hope for me, for years my dad has tried to teach me but had no luck. All Emmett will get to do is witness my humiliation. The only physical things I'm decent at are shooting, archery and fishing. "

Arching his eyebrow in curiosity and skepticism Edward said questioningly "You shoot?" Bella laughed as she said "Hey, I'm a cop's daughter. If I was going to learn anything and be decent at it my dad was determined it would be how to defend myself. And you know , fishing, because it's my dads favorite pastime and he likes to call it our 'bonding time', but anyways we better get to class, I'll talk to you later! " Bella said as she hurried off to her last class of the day. Leaving Edward grinning as he walked to his next class.

After many bruises, and much teasing from Emmett, Bella ended the school day and meeting up with Alice; walked to her old beat up Chevy. "Man, this hunk of junk gets you around? " Emmett said skeptically as he came up behind them. "

"Hey! Don't knock my baby! Anyways, I have to get home. But I'll see you guys tomorrow, and you of course can text me Alice ! " Bella said as she hopped into her truck. Starting up the engine Bella waved to Emmett , Alice and an approaching Edward as she pulled out and headed home.

 **TTTTTTTTTTTT**

 _Officer Swan, we have an assault in progress on Brandywine St. in front of Newton's. It is unknown at this time of any weapons use._ "Copy that, Officer Swan responding, I repeat Officer Swan responding. " Charlie said over the radio as he pulled out and headed to the new threat in town. _Copy that, I'll send Officer Clearwater in for backup._ "Affirmative." Charlie responded as he headed down the road. Forks was generally a very peaceful town, with the occasional drunken brawl or wreck. Drug use was not very prominent in their tiny little town, the most exciting it ever really got was writing someone the occasional speeding ticket. But Charlie worried with everything going on in the news that , their peaceful lives were about to change.

Pulling up to the scene Charlie was amazed to find a man straddling another person on the ground, and quite literally trying to tear his face off. As Charlie stepped out of the cruisers man ran up to him panting as he said, " I – I tried to pull him off of him. I don't know what's gotten in to him. He was fine this morning I left him here by his truck, he seemed a little off like he was sick or something but fine other than that. Dave and I , we came and found him here when he didn't show up for work , he – he was just sitting in his car. Acting really funny, but when we opened the door he leapt onto Dave! I tried to pull him off but Steve , he – he bit my hand! I- I . .. " interrupting the panicking man Charlie quickly inserted, " Sir! Sir, I need you to calm down! We will need your statement but right now I need to get the situation under control. Just remain calm for me."

Charlie quickly turned to the crazed man and yelled "POLICE, stand down! I repeat stand down! " The man called Steve continued to try and grab at the screaming man, who Charlie assumed was Dave. Charlie shouted again for Steve to desist but to no avail. Quickly running over Charlie tried to grab the man and pull him off, but was met with strong resistance. Taking out his taser Charlie fired at Steve to incapacitate him, but was shocked when the man continued on as if not bothered at all. Upon being fired at with the taser the man , growling like an animal, slowly began to rise up and walk towards Charlie.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Charlie yelled, but the man called Steve merely continued to stagger forward while staring blindly forwards with a glazed, absent look in his eye. "I said I'll shoot!" But the man continued on. Having to take drastic measures Charlie took aim and fired into the mans upper right thigh, only to be amazed as the man kept coming as if nothing had happened. Now he was only 3 feet away, and with no choice left Charlie took aim and fired at the mans chest. Staggering back a couple feet, the man was delayed, but to Charlie's utter shock, kept coming. Standing in shock Charlie watched as Steve kept coming towards him, unable to move until suddenly a bullet went flying into Steve's head and he went flying backwards to the ground; as Charlie shook off his stupor to look and find Harry Clearwater standing a few feet away by his cruiser with the same look of shock on his face.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Dr. Carlisle Cullen was just finishing up with his final patient of the day when he received a page saying **DR CULLEN TO FRONT DESK PLEASE**. Finishing his paperwork Carlisle walked up to the desk and addressed Mrs. Mallory, the receptionist. "Yes, Susan what is it you needed ?"

"Dr. Cullen, Chief Swan is here to see you." Mrs. Mallory said in her rather nasally voice. Turning , Carlisle found who he assumed to be the chief of police standing off to the side . "Chief Swan? I'm Dr. Cullen, I was told you were wanted to see me? I hope everything's alright, it's not my children? Or my wife is it? " Carlisle asked with alarm.

Turning to face him Charlie quickly said "Oh no doctor! Nothing like that I didn't mean to cause you alarm. " with relief Carlisle quickly said "Oh thank heavens! In that case how can I help you sir? " Looking slightly perturbed Charlie said. "Well first of all, I'd like to welcome you to Forks. You're reputation as a Dr. precedes you, and we are certainly grateful to have you in our little town. Now this may come off rather strange, but I have a favor to ask of you." Slightly confused Carlisle said, "Of course, all you have to do is ask! What is it you need Chief?"

"Well, you have heard of the recent assaults we've been getting reports of in the news. The media would like to chalk it up to a new drug. And I was apt to lead that way myself till this evening. . . You see I responded to a call today where we had such an incident. But was like nothing I've seen before, the man was aggressive, but almost feral or rabid even. As if he had no reasoning. I tried to stun him in order to incapacitate him, but he kept on as if not affected. He then began to steadily approach me, and I had no choice but to shoot. But Dr. Cullen, he kept coming. I shot him

Again, this time in the chest. And he still kept coming. He was only stopped when backup arrived on the scene, my coworker Officer Clearwater shot him in the head . . It was the only thing we could do to stop him." Charlie finished, with a pale sheen washing over his face.

For a moment Carlisle was lost for words. ". . . I – that's astonishing! I had no idea how serious these situations were getting!" "Neither did I. " Charlie replied as he ran his hand over his face tiredly. "But, may I ask , does this have to do with me Officer Swan?" Carlisle said confused. "Please, call me Charlie. And well, Dr. Cullen. I understand this is no longer a scope of your practice, but to my understanding you started out your career working with the forensics team in Seattle, doing tox screens and autopsies."

"Well yes. .i did." Replied Carlisle. "But what does that have to do with this? And ,you Charlie, may call me Carlisle." "We'll, Carlisle . . I . I hate to ask this of you, especially after you just arriving. But I was hoping you could come into the morgue and examine the body. See if you could find any traces of a possible drug. Or any hints to what might be causing this? I know it's not your normal job, but our regular pathologist, while good at his job, has no real experience with drug use being involved in the death . The most he sees is someone who drank themselves to death, or had a heart attack. Nothing major. But you, having come from a bigger city. Have more experience with this, especially given your early career. If you agree to take the case, I can give you clearance to examine the body. Of course if you decline I would understand. But you really would be helping me out greatly. " Charlie said slowly.

After thinking a moment Carlisle said, "Well, I can certainly take a look for you but I can't promise that I'll find anything helpful. " "Thank you, Carlisle. That's all I need really is just your opinion on it. I'll take it whatever you find. I'm just worried, after what I've seen today. I'll give you my number so you can call me with your discoveries. " Charlie said as he handed him his card.

"Of course, I'm happy to help! I'll go first thing in the morning and call you as soon as I've finished the examination." Carlisle said. "In the meantime I have to go finish my shift, by as soon as I know something I'll let you know." "Thank you," Charlie said as he shook Carlisle's hand and left the hospital.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Over the next couple days more and more reports started coming in across the country of strange attacks and erratic behavior in individuals. Charlie was becoming increasingly worried over the events and kept a constant eye on the news. While sitting down to breakfast with Renee and Bella, Charlie looked down to see his phone ringing. Seeing it was from

Carlisle he quickly answered. " Chief Swan here."

 **"Charlie, it's Carlisle. I've finished examining the body."** _"Well, what did you find ? Anything ?_ Charlie asked anxiously. **"Well, I did a tox screen first, and found no traces of drugs in his system. All I found was small traces of alcohol. But what I did find was rather. . . Unusual. I don't really know what to make of it. You said the deceased was killed during the altercation two days ago, around 5 p.m. correct? "** Carlisle asked with a strange tone in his voice. _"Well yes, Harry Clearwater shot him in the head, finally taking him down. Why?"_ Charlie asked confused. **"Well Charlie, I don't understand it. There's got to be an explanation for it, but I just don't know what . . You see after my examination, and rechecking my own calculations several times. The rate of decay in the body and the stage it was in upon the beginning of Examination to the end, all says that the decaying process began 10 hours earlier than the recorded time of death. "** Confused , Charlie asked , _"Carlisle what does that mean?"_

 **"It means that he was dead long before you shot him Charlie."**


	3. Aftertheendchapter2

Chap 2

"What do you mean he was already dead? I saw him Carlisle. I shot him. I saw Harry Clearwater kill him." Charlie said confused. " Of course I don't mean literally, but . . . Charlie the state his body was in upon examination was far more progressed than the given time of death. " Carlisle explained slowly. "But what does that mean Carlisle?" Charlie asked

"It means that whatever this is it's not a drug, and it's not something we have seen before. I can't say for sure because I've never seen anything like this but I think we are dealing with a virus. One that causes the body to break down and decay even before death. " Carlisle said, with worry in his voice. "If this is a new virus Carlisle, how are we going to combat it? How can we keep it from spreading if we don't even know what it is?" Charlie asked concerned . "I don't know Charlie. . . I don't know. "

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 _As episodes of erratic violence increase around not only the country, but across the globe; the CDC is now calling what was once thought to be a rise in the increase of hallucinogenic drugs , a outbreak of what could be a new and possibly deadly virus.Though Little is yet known about this new threat , the CDC is working with disease centers around the world to learn as much as they can about its origins, how it is spread, and how to stop it from growing further. Though nothing has been confirmed yet, if this new disease continues to spread at an alarming rate it is highly possible that international travel between countries will be suspended. As of now US officials have not confirmed that such measures will be taken, but they assure the public whatever means are necessary to prevent further spread of this disease, they will be issued at the appropriate time. . ._

" You guys don't think they would actually close down the borders do you? " Alice asked with concern as she turned off the world news playing from her phone. The group had decided to listen to the latest on the growing health scare, while sitting down to lunch in the cafeteria.

"I mean this sounds pretty serious, even our dad is worried."

"Oh come on Alley Cat , you know dad. I'm sure this will all blow over in a few days and soon we will forget it ever happened." Said Emmett as he popped a French fry in his mouth.

" I don't know Emmett, my dad is pretty worried too. After what happened the other day, it has him all shook up he says he's never seen anything like it. I don't know if this is gonna go away anytime soon or not. " Bella said with concern.

Placing his hand on top of hers for comfort Edward said "Well, whatever happens I'm sure we will be fine here. Forks is a small town nothing ever happens here." "If that ain't the truth " Emmett said snorting.

"Well what would we do if it does get worse? " Rosalie suddenly piped up. Over the past few days she had slowly been coming out of her shell, much to the relief of Jasper and Bella, who had also noticed a growing bond between her and Emmett. " I mean if this gets worse, what would we do to protect ourselves against sick people who don't even know what they are doing?" She continued. "Like I said, nothing will happen. This is all gonna blow over and everyone will just feel silly!" Boomed Emmett.

"I sure hope so ." Alice said glumly.

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"Where is your father ? Is getting late and he should be home by now." Esme fretted as she placed supper on the table. "It's not like him to miss dinner, where could he be?"

" Don't worry Mama! " Boomed Emmett. "I'm sure he just got held up at work. Maybe there was a wreck or something and they needed extra help. You know Dad, he can't stand to sit by and let others do all the work. " Emmett finished as he reached for a bread roll.

"Emmett Dale Cullen ! You put that down right now. You know better, we always wait for your father!" Esme scolded her son. "Sorry Mama, " Emmett said while ducking his face.

"What's this? We can't have starving children!" Carlisle said as he came through the door. "Daddy! You're home! " Alice squealed as she jumped up to greet her father.

"Carlisle , your late ! What happened ? Is everything alright?" Esme asked worried.

"Hey Alley Cat" Carlisle said hugging his daughter.

"Don't worry Dear, I'll explain everything but first let's have supper. Emmett and I are famished. " he said as he sat down at the table. "Here, here!" Piped Emmett.

Sitting down the family clasped hands together and said grace before beginning their meal. Emmett immediately dug in with gusto but Alice merely pushed food around her plate, looking troubled.

"Alice dear, what's wrong? " Carlisle asked as he noticed his daughter's mood.

"I'm just worried about what's in the news Daddy. Emmett says this will all blow over but I can tell you're worried too. It's why you were late coming home from the hospital. Isn't it?" Alice asked with worry.

Sighing, Carlisle set down his fork as he said, "Yes. I was late because of everything going on in the news. With this possible new virus, the hospital had a staff meeting to discuss the plans already set in place in the event of a pandemic. "

"A pandemic? You don't really think this will become that serious do you Carlisle?" Esme asked worried. "That's just it Esme, we don't know enough about this yet. We don't know how it spreads or what exactly it is. There's still so much to learn, and I have a feeling there's a lot the CDC isn't telling us . . They don't want to spread panic, but I fear they are leaving the hospitals woefully unprepared to deal with this."

Edward sat silently contemplating their fathers words while his siblings looked concerned and their mother anxiously grabbed their fathers hand. "Carlisle what will we do if this gets worse? How do we stay safe?" Esme asked slowly.

Carlisle was silent for a moment , then said " I don't know yet, what all is going to happen. Hopefully nothing more comes of this and things get back to normal. But what I do know is, if things do get worse, we will stay safe. And we will look out for one another. Because no matter what happens one thing that won't change is we are a family. And we stick together." Carlisle smiled at everyone as he picked up his fork and resumed eating. "Now, lets all forget this for the moment and finish our lovely meal your mother has prepared for us ! "

 _The decision has been made this morning to close all international flights. The President plans to address the nation later today at a press conference covering the current situation and the as of yet unidentified virus. Although in the mean time Vice President Lanard did tell our reporters that if necessary, the next step in preventing disease spread will be closing all domestic flights here in the U.S._

 _Vice President Lanard also stated that if this does indeed become necessary all public schools, Universities and College campuses will be closed till the threat has passed. With that being said he urges the public not to panic and assured us that we will receive a much more in depth briefing at today's Conference. Now . . ."_

Bella turned from her bowl of Cheerios to see that her mother had changed the channel to cartoons. Scowling she said,"Mom, I was watching that! "

"Well Bella, I think we could all do with a break from the news. " Renee rubbed her temples as she sank down on the sofa in the living room. She had just come from working the night shift and all her coworkers could discuss all night was the new viral threat. Though she was worried too, she couldn't deal with dwelling on all that right now. She just needed a break, and some sense of normalcy in her work routine. Instead of talk of quarantine and preventative measures. Coming home to see it discussed on the news wasn't helping.

At that moment Charlie came in and leaned over to give his wife a

Kiss."Morning sweetie, how was work? "

"Ugh Charlie it's chaotic. Everyone is worried about this, now that the borders are shut down some people at work are really starting freak out. If they shut down domestic travel things are going to get crazy. I don't think Forks hospital is equipped to deal with a pandemic. "

Charlie looked troubled, she knew there was something he wasn't telling her. Things about this he'd seen at work, and she didn't want to push him she knew he carried a lot on his shoulders right now. But she didn't like being kept in the dark when this could be something that would affect all of their lives.

"Dad , you don't really think they will close the schools do you ? I mean things would have to be pretty bad for them to do that wouldn't they?" Bella stood by the table with her backpack, ready to head out the door. But she looked worried and as much as Charlie wanted to be able to tell her nothing was going to happen , he knew he couldn't make that promise.

"I don't know Bells, I don't know what's gonna happen. But we are gonna get through this. Just be cautious ok, if anyone is acting weird , off somehow. You just stay away from them ok. Be safe, be smart . "

Heading out the door Bella turned back to look at her Dad, "I will Dad. I promise !"

Sitting in the cafeteria as Alice talked ninety miles a minute Bella tried her best to listen but she was too focused on the news article she was reading. Some independent journalist had written his theories on what was happening, and to be honest it was crazy. "Bella?! Hello? Are you listening?"Alice waved her hand in front of Bella's face , "Sorry Alice, I was just looking at this article this journalist wrote. It's crazy." Bella said shaking her head.

"What does it say?"Edward asked leaning in beside Bella to get a better look at what she was reading.

As he leaned in the scent of lilacs and honey wafted up to her nose and Bella caught herself leaning closer to breath it in. Her heart fluttered with Edward so close and her breath caught in her throat. Looking up over Edward's tussled bronze hair Bella caught Alice grinning at her, and Emmett with a smirk on his face waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Rolling her eyes Bella laid her phone on the table so everyone could see what she'd been reading. "Zombies ? Seriously? This guy thinks the new Pandemic is Zombies?" Alice said with disdain.

"Zombies? Awesome man! " Emmett said grinning. "Oh grow up Emmett."Edward said rolling his eyes.

" Obviously ,Zombies aren't real ." Alice said while she picked at her salad." But, I would like to know what's going on. "

"This guy. . .he claims to have seen one of these attacks firsthand, " Bella stated while taking a bite out of her apple. He says in the article that he's been following reports of these attacks from all over , ever since they started 3 weeks ago. And well, according to him the only logical explanation is zombies."

"What are you losers talking about now?" The group turned in unison to the nasally voice of Lauren Mallory behind them. "Get lost Mallory."Bella growled out.

"You nutcases really think this is the zombie apocalypse? How dumb can you be?" Lauren taunted. "This is all going to blow over just like the swine flu did and then you'll see what idiots you all are."

"We don't know what is causing the stuff going on in the news but we sure as heck are taking it more seriously than you are. You want to pretend like this isn't serious go ahead. But we aren't turning a blind eye to what's going on, we can't. " Bella stated.

"Lauren, I know this seems all kind of preposterous but I really do think this could be serious. " Alice said with concern in her voice. "My dad hears a lot of stuff working at the hospital and he thinks we should be on alert."

"Oh yes and we all know your dad is so reliable. The only reason he probably moved you losers to this town was because he wasn't qualified enough to work somewhere besides a small pathetic community hospital."

" hmm , you know Lauren that's kinda funny because last week when I was visiting my mom during her shift, I overheard your mom praising doctor Cullen for being able to confirm , that what you both were so sure was a cancerous mole, was actually an infected pimple with an ingrown hair. . .on your butt." Bella said smirking at a now red faced Lauren who marched off without another word. Looking after her the group started chortling with laughter as they got up to go to their next class.

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Carlisle sighed as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the doctors lounge. It wasn't fresh but at least it was somewhat warm and caffeinated. He'd been answering consults all morning down in the ER and now an hour past noon he was finally taking a small respite. Cases had been coming in at an ever increasing rate. All with the same symptoms and similar stories. Fevers , aching muscles and . . . Bites. All of them had been attacked by strangers or loved ones even, who all were said to have been acting rabid almost. They hadn't actually brought in the said assailants yet. But police were actively working to bring those who displayed this behavior in. While many of the patients coming in with fevers said that they'd been bitten days ago, many of whom were actually traveling at the time of the attack and had been trying to make it till they got back to their hometowns to get it looked at. But when the fevers started they either decided they couldn't wait or were forced by loved ones to come get checked. Over night it seemed the reports of incidents of rabid behavior had increased drastically. Calls from surrounding towns all reporting the same violence that was beginning to appear in Forks.

Sighing, Carlisle decided it was time to make the call. Dialing the familiar number he held the phone up to his ear listening to it ring. On the second chime the other line picked up. "Hello Carlisle. I've been waiting for your call."


	4. Chap3

After the End: Chapter 3

"Eleazar , " Carlisle greeted from his end of the phone. " Normally I'd bother with pleasantries and ask after your family but considering the current circumstances I believe we both know it's best to skip all that. "

Eleazar paused for a moment before answering with a sigh" . . . I believe you are right my friend. As much as I was dreading this conversation I've been waiting for you to call."

"So . . . You do know something then ?" Carlisle questioned his long time friend. For days Carlisle had been considering calling Eleazar, but also dreading it because he knew if he needed to call him things were getting worse, not better.

Eleazar and Carlisle had gone to University together, they had become close friends during their time as medical students. But after graduation Carlisle went to work at local hospitals while Eleazar, filled with ambition, rose through the ranks to work for the CDC. He was now one of the head doctors leading the team devoted to the prevention of the spread of rare and often dangerous diseases . When it was finally announced that a virus, not a drug epidemic was suspected in the recent hospitalizations and attacks. Carlisle knew Eleazar would be at the center of the investigations.

"Carlisle. . . I do know something but not anything your going to want to hear. " Eleazar responded.

"Just tell me what you know Eleazar." Carlisle said with resignation. He knew whatever Eleazar was going to tell him was about to change his life forever. But he had to know, so he could help his patients and keep his family safe.

"That's just it Carlisle , we don't know what we are dealing with . . . And we don't have a way to stop it. . . "

"Eleazar, what do you mean ?" Carlisle questioned his friend further.

Sighing Eleazar began to explain what he knew. "About a month ago . . . Before the first news report on this was

Released, we received a message from a doctor working in the amazon. He said he had come across a new virus that could be catastrophic on the worlds population if it wasn't stopped. When we read what he was telling us we laughed. Because it couldn't possibly be true. He said he'd discovered a zombie virus. A virus that killed and then reanimated the body . . . We all mocked such an idea. The man had to be crazy.

But then another similar case popped up in Arabia. The head of the CDC decided to send a team to investigate. So I was sent to determine if there was any substance to this doctors fears. I didn't think I'd actually be confirming it though . . When we got to Arabia we met the doctors who were trying to treat a patient . . . A man who was claiming he'd been attacked by a dead man. He claimed the man tried to eat him, that he'd taken a bite out of his arm. Which is exactly what the doctor from the Amazon had warned us about . . . A corpse attacking another living human being.

I of course laughed at first. The man was delirious with fever surely. His temperature was hot enough to cook an egg on his forehead. But still we stayed with the man for days, despite antibiotics he wasn't getting better. The bite on his arm . . the infection was terrible. We tried every antibiotic we could think of, but nothing helped Carlisle- nothing . At that point we amputated the mans arm, hoping if we removed the starting point of the infection that his body would heal. It didn't work though. Eventually after 4 days of fever . . The man died.

Well that was it . We had investigated and as far as I was concerned it was just a case of infection not caught in time. But then . . Before we left something happened. Carlisle . . . the mans body came back to life."

Carlisle couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Surely Eleazar had misspoke. "Eleazar what do you mean he came back . . .your saying he came back to life after death -That's not scientifically possible! "

"Carlisle, I'm telling you what a saw. Trust me . . I know what it sounds like. But it's true. He came back, well at least a part of him did. He wasn't really there anymore but his body was still moving. He was feral . . He came after the doctor performing the autopsy and he bit him . . . We tried to restrain him but it was so unexpected. . We were all in shock we didn't know what to do! One of the hospital guards came Into the room after hearing the shouts, he warned the man to back off, but it was like his mind was only focused on one thing. He didn't understand what we were saying, he was lost in a feral rage, more animal than human at that point. The guard had no choice, he wasn't stopping. So he shot him in the chest and it did nothing to slow him down, he got knocked back to the floor but he slowly rose up as if he'd merely been hit in the chest with a dodgeball instead of a bullet!

Finally I was able To come up behind him and pierce his temple with a surgical knife cutting down into the brain and that's what finally stopped him . . But not before two people were bit. By the end of the week Carlisle . . Those people were dead. And several hours after death , they too came back."

Carlisle was silent for several seconds trying to process what he had just heard. "Eleazar, your telling me there is a virus that brought back a corpse. Are you sure this isn't some mutated form of rabies perhaps? It's sounds more likely than what you are proposing. The dead coming back to life."

"Not back to life, just certain parts of the body being . . . Reawakened. And yes Carlisle, I know how it sounds . . But it's true. "

Still disbelieving this was all true Carlisle asked " The two people you said died. They were bit? "

"Yes, although we didn't know it at the time. That's how it transferred . . We tried everything to help them recover. We did all we could for the doctor who had performed the autopsy as well, but unfortunately he bled out, he'd been bitten in the jugular and we couldn't get the bleeding under control. And the other two victims- just like with the male victim who infected them. . . They succumbed to the bite. All three came back. It took us days to form any kind of lead. Finally I realized we needed to be looking at the brain. At this point, all our test subjects were dead. We couldn't study the virus this way . . But then some scientists in France reached out to us . The same thing was happening there, and they had a test subject for us to study.

Actually in reality, they were two steps ahead of us . . They had already figured out the key to this virus was in the brain and they had been studying the scans of a scientist who fell victim to the virus while trying to solve it. He volunteered to let them study his brain while

The fever raged . . . And after death. The brain scans from his time before death , and the scans and labs from the rest of the body . Showed a bacteria, foreign to the body , attacking the brain and immune system. Once the subject died it was almost a day before anything else

Occurred. The scans were blank . But then finally, the brain began to re-activate. Although the only parts of the brain showing activity were those controlling movement, the senses, and . . . .hunger."

Eleazar stopped speaking . Letting Carlisle digest his words. "So what your saying is . ."

"The infection kills the carrier but causes the brain to re-activate and re-animate the body shortly thereafter, eliminating any conscious human traits. The virus survives in the dead flesh . . But if the brain stem is severed it can no longer survive in the brain. We aren't sure why this is . . We aren't sure where this virus originated in the first place. The Amazon was where we got the first known report but in the weeks following the first incident it's been spreading across the globe . . . "

Carlisle thought back to the body he examined, the decay process he'd thought had started before death. . . It wasn't accelerated decay. It was the virus re-animating the body. "I've seen it here . . I just didn't realize what the virus had done"

Eleazar let out a weary sigh.

"Carlisle, that one instance is just the beginning. I'm sure you've been having more people coming in,

Complaining of fevers, bites . . "

"Yes we have . . But no one has died yet . Surely there might still be time to find a cure. If the virus kills as slowly as you saw in your cases."

"But that's the thing Carlisle, this virus adapts quickly . . In the beginning it took several days for the host to succumb to the virus. But it has grown more aggressive and now it can take anywhere from a couple days to merely

A few hours. And Carlisle that's not the worst part . . . The virus . . It's mutated . It no longer only affects those bitten. If someone were to die of natural causes they would turn too. "

Carlisle was stunned ."Eleazar, what do you mean ? "

"Basically Carlisle, from everything we have been able to glean about this virus-which hasn't been enough, near enough- we think the virus has adapted so that now it lies dormant within all of us. Perhaps it became airborne and we all breathed it in. Or maybe it's spread through the water systems- we don't know, but what we do know is all it takes to wake up the virus is –"

"-death." Carlisle finished for him.

"Yes."

What can we do?" He whispered. "There's got to be some way to stop this ."

"There might be a way to cure it, or at least cure those in whom the virus lays dormant. But at the rate the virus is now spreading we may not have enough time to find it. Believe me we are trying, but you have to prepare yourselves for how this is going to affect the worlds population. Think about how many people die every second Carlisle.Some of them won't turn for days , the virus takes longer to re-activate in some hosts and in others mere hours. . .The problem now is surviving long enough for the cure to become possible . . . "

"God help us."Carlisle whispered. "Why haven't you warned the people Eleazar! No one is prepared for this ! Why aren't you on the television right now warning everyone! " Carlisle shouted into the phone.

"Believe me Carlisle, I want to ! Don't think that's not what I want to be doing right now! But we've been ordered not to . . . "

"By who Eleazar? "

" By the head of the CDC . And also by the President."

"Dr. Volturi told you not to say anything?" Carlisle said incredulously. "Why on earth did they do that?!"

"The President as well as the United Nations, has been putting pressure on Dr. Volturi to keep this under wraps so as to prevent a panic. They are hoping, despite our many warnings, that we will have this somewhat figured out before it goes public . They want us to to be able to give them some good news but I fear that won't happen. We are running out of time and we are nowhere near finding a cure . . . "

"What do we do then Eleazar?" Carlisle's mind went to his family. How was he going to protect them from this? No where was safe. It was his responsibility to protect them but he didn't know how he was going to do that.

Eleazar sighed . . . "Well, the decision on whether or not to close all domestic travel is going to be made in the next 24 hours. That will also mean the schools will be closed. I'm not privy to what will happen beyond that.

All you can do now is avoid other people as much as you can. .. get away from the crowds, that's where this is going to spread the quickest . . .and hope that a miracle will happen and our scientists will have a break through. Carlisle, I'll try to stay in touch with you , keep you updated on what's going on as I learn it myself. . . Technically I'll be breaking all the rules by doing that but you are my friend. Your family's safety is important to me. If this gets as bad as I fear we will all have to rely on each other. . . Carlisle I have to go now they are calling me to a meeting, but I'll update you when I can. Stay safe my friend. "

" I will, you do the same, goodbye my friend. " Carlisle dank down into a chair, head in his hands. _What are we going to do. . .Never did I ever think we'd be facing something out of one of Emmett's video games. A freaking zombie apocalypse!_ He was picking up his phone to call Esme when Nurse Swan poked her head around the door,

"Dr.Cullen, we have another patient being brought in downstairs . EMTs are saying it's another case of high fever and an infected wound sight . Estimated arrival is in 5. "

Sighing Carlisle put away his phone and stepped out of the lounge room back into the ever increasing chaos.

 **Authors note: I wanted to do a chapter explaining the virus starting and the timeline. It's been a month since the first reported case. In my version the virus starts out much slower, once a person is bit it can take several days for them to succumb to it. And over the course of the month it has mutated in such a way that the living are all carries now and it's becoming more aggressive in those who have been bitten so now all the hospitals are being flooded with people as it's getting worse. Hope this explains it somewhat:) I just want to apologize that it took so long to start updating and thank you to those who left such kind reviews! I had a baby and to those of you reading this who are parents, you know how time consuming children can be :p but anyways thank you!**


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